Another one of French wizard Georges Melies countless number of early twentieth-century films, this one resembles many other films of the time in being a reproduction of a stage act. Melies plays a Chinese conjurer who performs various feats of magic on-stage. The trouble with this film is that it uses trick photography to perform the tricks which, when you think about it, pretty much defeats the object. It's not a magic trick when it's performed by camera trickery - it's a camera trick. Still, this kind of thing seemed to please audiences back then so I suppose it's churlish to complain. Ten lines - that equates to two-and-a-half lines for each minute of film...
8 Reviews
Méliès the Eastern magician
ackstasis11 April 2007
Dressed in Chinese costume and make-up, Georges Méliès is almost unrecognisable, though he does bring to this film that passionate enthusiasm that is evident in every single one of his works. Having worked as a stage magician prior to acquiring an interest in cinema, the director and performer is certainly in his element here, making lamp shades turn into dogs, dogs turn into women, and then a woman into a flock of chickens. He employs many of his usual camera tricks substitutions, cross dissolves and most of them are relatively seamless.
However, in this case, Méliès' usual clever camera-work serves somehow to lessen the films impact, rather than enhance it. This film basically being a staged magic act, it is somewhat disheartening to already know that most of "magic tricks" were achieved simply through camera tricks, rather than the elaborate, creative stunts of deception that would ordinarily be demanded of a traditional stage magician. What worked in countless other Méliès shorts simply didn't work here. This has nothing to do with the quality of the actual work, but merely with the context in which it is used.
Having said that, however, there is absolutely no reason why somebody should not watch 'Tchin-Chao: The Chinese Conjurer' for a few minutes of light entertainment. Some of the tricks are quite fun and imaginative, and it certainly looks like, as always, Méliès himself is having a grand time!
However, in this case, Méliès' usual clever camera-work serves somehow to lessen the films impact, rather than enhance it. This film basically being a staged magic act, it is somewhat disheartening to already know that most of "magic tricks" were achieved simply through camera tricks, rather than the elaborate, creative stunts of deception that would ordinarily be demanded of a traditional stage magician. What worked in countless other Méliès shorts simply didn't work here. This has nothing to do with the quality of the actual work, but merely with the context in which it is used.
Having said that, however, there is absolutely no reason why somebody should not watch 'Tchin-Chao: The Chinese Conjurer' for a few minutes of light entertainment. Some of the tricks are quite fun and imaginative, and it certainly looks like, as always, Méliès himself is having a grand time!
Nice to watch, but among Méliès' worst I have seen.
planktonrules7 September 2006
This short silent film is part of the DVD collection entitled "The Magic of Méliès" and is the fourth volume of THE MOVIES BEGIN series from Kino Video. Unlike copies of Méliès' films that are posted on the internet, the prints for these short films are exceptionally crisp and clean and feature wonderful musical scores. Oddly, though, is that aside from a few films such as THE BLACK IMP and THE IMPOSSIBLE VOYAGE, most of the shorts chosen for this DVD are actually not among the best of Méliès' films--having a strong tendency to show is "stagy" material as opposed to the films that have elaborate sets and plots. In particular, my favorites such as BARBE-BLEUE and LE VOYAGE DANS LE LUNE (his most famous film) are not on this DVD.
This video makes it very obvious that Méliès began his career as a stage magician. In this film, he is almost unrecognizable in Chinese makeup and dress, but the act is pure stage magic. Because it is simply a magic act, the trick cinematography instead of enhancing the film just makes the magic seem not so "magical" as you can tell the camera is stopping and starting to make the tricks come to be.
This video makes it very obvious that Méliès began his career as a stage magician. In this film, he is almost unrecognizable in Chinese makeup and dress, but the act is pure stage magic. Because it is simply a magic act, the trick cinematography instead of enhancing the film just makes the magic seem not so "magical" as you can tell the camera is stopping and starting to make the tricks come to be.
I feel dizzy
gagewyn20 March 2000
I watched this as one of the shorts on The magic of Melies video cassette released by Kino on Video, 1994. Image quality was good. Music matched the mood of the film. No color was added. Cropping did not appear to interfere with the film. Frame speed appeared to be to fast. This should give an idea of the technical quality of the release I watched.
This film consists mainly of special effects being used to create a magic show. The chinese magician dances across the screen with a parasol. As his swings his parasol past places on the screen various items appear. A dog appears and becomes a woman. A chinaman is conjured to pair with her. They dance and fade from one part of the screen to another. The effect is dizzying, but I think this may have been partly because frame speed was too fast an the copy I watched.
I recommend this film to people interested in very early film history. For general viewers it is amusing, and not long enough to be tedious, but not that interesting either.
This film consists mainly of special effects being used to create a magic show. The chinese magician dances across the screen with a parasol. As his swings his parasol past places on the screen various items appear. A dog appears and becomes a woman. A chinaman is conjured to pair with her. They dance and fade from one part of the screen to another. The effect is dizzying, but I think this may have been partly because frame speed was too fast an the copy I watched.
I recommend this film to people interested in very early film history. For general viewers it is amusing, and not long enough to be tedious, but not that interesting either.
Tchin-Chao: The Chinese Conjuror is interesting for Melies enthusiasts
tavm28 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Georges Melies is dressed as a Chinaman in front of a Chinese background. Under his umbrella is some lamps he hangs up as they appear. He then puts the umbrella over a small table on his right side and a dog appears. He turns the dog into a woman in a quick cut method. He uses his umbrella again and a male assistant appears. All are wearing Chinese makeup. Melies takes two big box covers over both tables and makes the woman go from one side to another. The covers of both are split open when all three at various times go through them. By this time, the woman fades from one table to the other. Then Georges covers the woman in a blanket and when he opens it up some chickens come out! The other man and woman at this point come from backstage as they all bow out. I saw this (which was mistakenly identified as Imperceptible Transmutations on the box but has the correct French title on screen) and other Melies shorts in an Arte Video DVD collection called Melies the Magician in a segment called Melies Magic Show that also includes his most famous film: A Trip to the Moon. If you're interested in early silent movie special effects, then this short and other Melies films are most highly recommended.
Tired Stuff Made Different by Chinese Motifs
Hitchcoc15 November 2017
It's the usual disappearing female who leaves one location and comes back in another. The characters pretend to be Chinese which is different, I guess. The tricks are less than astounding and it's really obvious that someone came in and rearranged things before the shoot. There is no real plot and no Wow moment.
Tchin-Chao, The Chinese Conjurer
Michael_Elliott24 July 2008
Tchin-Chao, The Chinese Conjurer (1904)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
aka Le Thaumaturge chinois
This time out director Melies plays a Chinaman magician who does a stageshow, which includes putting a woman in a box and a similar box next to her and making the woman appear in the opposite box. You can sometimes tell how these tricks were done, through editing, but the special effects here were very good and I honestly didn't see how the trick was pulled off. The final gag is a funny one but overall this didn't contain enough magic to where I'd call it one of Melies' best films.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
aka Le Thaumaturge chinois
This time out director Melies plays a Chinaman magician who does a stageshow, which includes putting a woman in a box and a similar box next to her and making the woman appear in the opposite box. You can sometimes tell how these tricks were done, through editing, but the special effects here were very good and I honestly didn't see how the trick was pulled off. The final gag is a funny one but overall this didn't contain enough magic to where I'd call it one of Melies' best films.
Technically Well-Done, Though Rather Bland
Snow Leopard14 May 2004
There are a number of pretty good visual effects in this otherwise simple (and rather bland) Georges Méliès feature. Most of it just shows the conjurer 'Tchin-Chao' performing a stage act. In itself, the act is bland in some places, interesting in others. From a technical viewpoint, the camera tricks are generally effective, and are usually convincing because most of them are seamless.
Despite the quality, this is not among the best of Méliès's films, because there just isn't a lot to it. It's easy to appreciate (and at times to admire) the careful technique that you come to expect from the great cinema pioneer, but aside from that, there just isn't very much to get excited about in terms of the way that the camera effects are worked into the rest of the situation. Overall, the feature is mostly of interest as an example of technical skill with the camera.
Despite the quality, this is not among the best of Méliès's films, because there just isn't a lot to it. It's easy to appreciate (and at times to admire) the careful technique that you come to expect from the great cinema pioneer, but aside from that, there just isn't very much to get excited about in terms of the way that the camera effects are worked into the rest of the situation. Overall, the feature is mostly of interest as an example of technical skill with the camera.
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